Addicted to Tiffany's

Addicted to Tiffany's

I am so sorry that I did not see your post earlier!! I have two chihuahuas that are my BABIES!!! I also used to work for a vet's office, so FEEL FREE to ask me any questions

Is there anything specifically that you want to know?

As far as pottytraining is concerned, my two Chis adapted to wee wee pads right away. They are 1 year old and 2 years old, and they both had the hang of it pretty quickly. Just make a big deal out of it when they use it...maybe a tiny piece of cheese,etc.

Now that they are full grown, they also use their little dog door to go outside and potty. Now they just use the wee wee pads if it is late at night, or they are too lazy to make the trekk outside.

Also, a great tip is to put them on the wee wee pad every hour or so, and when the pup gets up from a nap. They usually need to go ASAP!!

And it is great that you are waiting until the pup has all of his shots before you expose him or her to potential germs. I think that that is the most CRUCIAL thing that pet owners do for new puppies. I saw so many pups come into the office b/c their owners took them into Petsmart or wherever and the puppy picked up diseases like Parvo and kennel cough

SHOES BAGS SHOESThread Starter

I am so sorry that I did not see your post earlier!! I have two chihuahuas that are my BABIES!!! I also used to work for a vet's office, so FEEL FREE to ask me any questions

Is there anything specifically that you want to know?

As far as pottytraining is concerned, my two Chis adapted to wee wee pads right away. They are 1 year old and 2 years old, and they both had the hang of it pretty quickly. Just make a big deal out of it when they use it...maybe a tiny piece of cheese,etc.

Now that they are full grown, they also use their little dog door to go outside and potty. Now they just use the wee wee pads if it is late at night, or they are too lazy to make the trekk outside.

Also, a great tip is to put them on the wee wee pad every hour or so, and when the pup gets up from a nap. They usually need to go ASAP!!

And it is great that you are waiting until the pup has all of his shots before you expose him or her to potential germs. I think that that is the most CRUCIAL thing that pet owners do for new puppies. I saw so many pups come into the office b/c their owners took them into Petsmart or wherever and the puppy picked up diseases like Parvo and kennel cough

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Thanks for the tips! We've been taking him out to The Place (hehe) every hour, but he's STILL managed to have 7 accidents so far! These little guys have tiiiiiiiiiiiiny bladders! He also went number 2 in my sister's hand as she was rushing him out to The Place

I was wondering if you had any tips on teaching him to not bite (the normal way I use involves taking it's muzzle and saying NO BITE..doesn't work with him it seems and yelping only makes him more excited) and teaching him how to sit (using food to go over his head, hence automatically sitting doesn't work because he doesn't SIT..just wanders off)

Addicted to Tiffany's

The whole biting thing (with my two little ones, anyway) kinda just disappeared after they got done teething. My advice is to get those little soft toys that are made just for teething pups (I think that Petsmart has them). Also, they make little "Kong" toys for puppies that you can squirt this cool paste stuff in that keeps them occupied for HOURS!! Or at least enough time to chat for a bit on the Purse Forum!! LOL

As far as the sitting is concerned, you can try and just wait until he sits on his own and say "Sit" and then give him a treat. He is not sitting on COMMAND yet, but he will get the hint that when he sits and you say "sit", it is a good thing and he gets a treat! After awhile, he SHOULD pick this up pretty quickly.

A great tip that I learned when potty training my first chi (Carmen, who is in the pic in my avatar) is when you take her to the place to go to the bathroom, say "Go Potty!!" in a really sweet, high pitched voice (trust me, you will feel like an idiot!). Be consistant with saying this every time and pretty soon, the puppy will begin to understand that when you say "Go Potty" it is time to go to the bathroom. With puppies whose minds often wander, this can help them "focus" on the task at hand. You might have to repeat it over and over, but I promise you that it worked with Carmen. She is two now, and when I need her to try and potty before bedtime, all I have to do is take her into the grass and say 'go potty' and it is like a lightbulb goes on over her head and she is like "Oh yeah!! I have to go!! Thanks for reminding me, Mom!"

LOL Chis are notorious for being hard to housetrain, but the biggest thing is consistency. It seems painstaking at first, but once they get the hang of it, it is great!!

BTW--my little guys still have accidents occasionally...chis do have TINY bladder and it happens sometimes.

Oh yeah-- I have to tell you that I am not a fan of crates. I know that they work GREAT for some, but I cannot stand putting my babies in one. So when Carmen was a baby, we got her a baby play pen!! It was GREAT!!! The top was open and it was roomy, but it still contained her safely when we were away

Sorry to go on and on...if you have any other questions, please ask!! As you can tell, I love talking about chis

SHOES BAGS SHOESThread Starter

Right now, Elvis is so tiny...he's the exact same size of a beanie baby!! I'm so scared of squishing him, hehe.

We are using a crate and it seems to work fine with him. He doesn't whine...just drinks his water, plays with his toy and goes to bed. *PHEW* I had thought about the playpen too, but only if the crate didn't work.

Addicted to Tiffany's

OMG OMG he is sooooooooooo cute!! He looks so much like Carmen when she was a baby

Bentley, my 1 year old black and tan male, weighs 9 pounds!!!!!!!! I know!!!!! He is huge! His mother was like 10 pounds, and his dad was like 3 pounds! We were hoping that he would take after his father, but he is a larger chi like his mom. Oh, well...he is not as fragile!!

Carmen, on the other hand, is two years old and BARELY weighs 4 lbs. She was the runt of her litter. I actually got to hold her the first day she was born, and she was literally the size of my THUMB!!!!

I totally know what you mean when you say that you are worried about squishing Elvis!! My guys stopped growing at probably 1 year or so...it kinda just depends on the dog. There is a really cool chi weight chart floating around the internet. YOu see what your pup weighs now and it tells you apx. what they will weigh when they mature. Try googling 'chihuahua weight chart'...it shouldn't be too hard to find. Let me know if you have trouble locating it.

As far as bathing is concerned, I do it probably every 2 weeks. In between, I use these puppy bath wipes (they are just like baby wipes) and just wipe down their fur to "freshen" them up The puppy formula is super gentle.

Also, there is the BEST line of shampoos/conditioners called "Plush Puppy". They are from some company is Australia and are really expensive, but worth it! Where do u live? I bet a dog boutique around you sells them...it is very popular among the dog show people.